So, You Want to Be a Bank? Regulatory Process for Forming or Acquiring a Depository Institution - Part III

In this installment: The process for seeking regulatory approval to form or acquire a depository institution.

Our first installment addressed the reasons why a provider of non-bank financial services might want to operate through a depository institution, the types of charters available, and high level considerations relevant to choosing the right charter. Our second installment addressed some consequences of operating through a depository institution charter. Read More

So, You Want to Be a Bank? Consequences of Forming or Acquiring a Depository Institution - Part II

This installment describes the consequences of operating through a depository institution charter, including capital requirements, supervision and examination by bank regulatory authorities and potential limitations imposed on controlling shareholders and investors. Read More

So, You Want to Be a Bank? Benefits of Operating Through a Bank Charter and Charter Choice Considerations

Like last year, 2018 is shaping up to be a busy year for de novo bank charters, with signs suggesting that we will continue to see strong interest in bank formation. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has already approved seven applications for deposit insurance for de novo institutions through September, and it approved eight during 2017, which was the most since 2010. While many bank chartering proposals are likely to originate from groups proposing to conduct a traditional community banking business, the last few years have seen increasing interest among nonbank financial services providers, including technology enabled firms engaged in payments, crypto currency and lending businesses, in exploring whether to operate through a depository institution charter. Read More

Is this the beginning of the end for the substantial compliance freedoms enjoyed by factors and merchant cash advance (MCA) providers? A new California law, SB 1235, foists consumer cost of credit-like disclosures onto a largely unregulated sector of the financial industry. In this FinTech Flash, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about it. Read More

Factoring and MCAs to Be Covered by the California Finance Lenders Law?

There’s a compliance totem pole in financing. Consumer lending is at the top as most highly regulated and business lending is near the bottom. There are ordered slots in each spot along the pole. Read More

Virtual Currency, The New Loan Security

The most frequently asked security question around virtual currency has shifted from “Is it secure?” to “Can it be used as security?” Yes, it can, and we’re seeing break-through lenders making loans to ICO platforms and others flush in virtual currency, but shy on cash, using their virtual currency as security on the loan. Read More

Insurance for Cryptocurrencies: Tips for Maximizing Coverage

There is general consensus that 2017 was a banner year for cryptocurrencies. According to CNBC, initial coin offerings (ICOs) in 2017 raised approximately $3.7 billion for issuing companies. And despite some recent weakness in high-profile cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, we expect an increasing number of ICOs from an ever-expanding scope of industries. Read More

New York Bank Regulator Seconds Challenge to OCC FinTech Bank Charter

Trailing the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) April lawsuit opposing the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) FinTech national bank charter, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) filed its own suit on May 12 challenging the OCC’s decision to grant bank charters to financial technology companies engaged in lending and payments-related activities. Read More

New York Looks to Further Regulate FinTech Lenders

Tucked away in the Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation Bill portion of the New York State 2018 Executive Budget is a proposed amendment to New York’s Licensed Lender Law that would “[a]llow the Department of Financial Services . . . to better regulate the business practices of online lenders." Read More

Living in the Regulatory World – What Happens, What Do I Do?

As FinTech companies move more and more into consumer financial services products, they move deeper and deeper into areas that are traditionally highly regulated. Even when they are providing services to a financial institution, they can face such regulatory scrutiny. This FinTech Flash looks at what type of regulators and scrutiny FinTech companies can face, what regulatory interactions can be like, and what FinTech companies can do to prepare for regulatory examinations. Read More

Bank Partnership Agreements

Prior FinTech Flash installments have addressed the pros and cons of marketplace lending companies entering into bank partnerships as well considerations relevant for determining whether a marketplace lending platform or its bank partner is the “true lender.” If a marketplace lending platform decides that it makes sense to enter into an arrangement with a bank partner, then it will need to negotiate and enter into a contractual agreement with its bank partner that satisfies applicable legal and regulatory requirements, establishes a structure for the arrangement intended to result in the bank partner being viewed as the “true lender,” and addresses other legal and business considerations. Read More

Marketplace Lending Bank Partner as True Lender

The most significant challenges faced by online marketplace lending platforms with bank partners center on the bank being correctly viewed as the “true lender.” Courts and regulators look to the substance, not the form, of the arrangement. The bank must be established as the lender in fact, ensuring the bank maintains the level of activity, authority over the loan program, and economic interest in the loans that one reasonably would expect of a lender. Forming a bank partnership requires deliberate consideration and expertise because true lender standards vary by regulator and jurisdiction and are fact-specific. In this issue of FinTech Flash, we cover the building blocks of true lender analysis. Read More

Bank Partnership or Go It Alone?

Bank partnerships in online marketplace lending are getting a lot of attention. There is pent up demand for these arrangements, with banks operating in this space experiencing increased inquiries from FinTech startups with lending ideas. Seeing these opportunities, other banks are considering becoming FinTech partners. All of this interest has translated into some regulators and enforcement agencies taking a critical look at how bank partnerships operate. In this first issue of FinTech Flash, we cover the pros and cons of marketplace lending platform companies entering into bank partnerships or obtaining their own state lender licenses. Read More